All Souls’ Day is a day of alms giving and prayers for the dead. The
intent is for the living to assist those in purgatory. Many western
churches annually observe All Souls’ Day on November 2 and many eastern
churches celebrate it prior to Lent and the day before Pentecost.

What do people do?

In many Catholic countries, people attend churches, which are
appropriately draped in black, and visit family graves to honor their
ancestors. All Souls’ Day is connected with All Saints’ Day, which is
observed on the day before, where people take the time to decorate the
graves of deceased loved ones and light candles in their memory.

All Souls’ Day in Mexico is a national holiday called Día de los
Muertos (Day of the Dead). Many people believe that the spirits of
the dead return to enjoy a visit to their friends and relatives on this
day. Long before sunrise, people stream into the cemeteries laden with
candles, flowers and food that is often shaped and decorated to resemble
the symbols of death. Children eat tiny chocolate hearse, sugar funeral
wreaths, and candy skulls and coffins. But the atmosphere is festive. In
the United States Día de los Muertos is celebrated in areas such
as Los Angeles where there is a large Latin American population.

The Day of the Dead is a popular time to see performances of the Ancient
Spanish drama, Don Juan Tenorio, about a reckless lover who kills
the father of a woman he tried to seduce and then erects the statue of
his victim. According to this fictitious play, the statue comes alive
and drags Don Juan to hell for account of his crimes.

In Italy IlGiorno dei Morti begins at dawn with a solemn
Requiem for the dead. Church bells toll and people decorate the graves
of deceased family members with flowers and candles. But this day is not
an entirely solemn occasion. In Sicily the children who pray for the
souls of the departed leave their shoes outside doors and windows. These
shoes are then filled with gifts. In Rome some young people may announce
their engagements on All Souls’ Day. The man sends the engagement ring
to his fiancé in a small white box. It is then packed in an oval
container filled with fave dei morti (beans of the dead), a type
of cookie.

... All Souls’ Day is not a nationwide public holiday but is observed
in some Christian churches in countries such as Australia, Canada, the
United Kingdom and the United States.

Background

All Souls’ Day was first instituted at the monastery in Cluny in 993 CE
and quickly spread throughout the Christian world. People held festivals
for the dead long before Christianity. It was Saint Odilo, the abbot of
Cluny in France, who in the 10th century, proposed that the day after
All Saints’ Day be set aside to honor the departed, particularly those
whose souls were still in purgatory. Today the souls of the faithful
departed are commemorated. Although All Souls’ Day is observed
informally by some Protestants, it is primarily a Roman Catholic,
Anglican and Orthodox holy day.

Symbols

The skull, which is the symbol of death, is used for All Souls’ Day in
many cultures. For example, candy in form of a sugar skull, which can
also made with chocolate, are made for the day. In Sicily, crunchy,
clove-scented cookies called "bones of the dead" are made for All Soul's
Day...

On 10-17-2012 at 12:48 PM, R.
Wayne III entered this world at Mary Immaculate Hospital!! My son
Robert and his wife Kelly added a second child to their
family and gave their three year old daughter
April Ann Stokes--my granddaughter--a brother: Robert Wayne
Stokes III, who will be addressed as Trey (number three).
The branch of the Stokes family tree upon which I set will continue
well into the future and be the namesake of both my son and me.

Am I excited? Absolutely!! Now,
at my young number of years I now have an even balance of
grandchildren--2 ladies and 2 gentlemen!! OK the years thing is a
stretch, but not the number of grandchildren.

Proud Grandfather (Pop)! Has
anyone found where the years went??

TC!

WOWZERS!
CONGRATULATIONS,
Wayne Honey!That's fabulous
news!I'm not sure why
you waited over two weeks to let us know, but I shall forego beating you
with a big stick for a myriad of reasons - not the least of which is
that you're a Sweetie-Pie!

Beth Ann looks in the mirror and does not like what she sees. "I am so
fat." She says. She feels angry and hopeless. In that moment she thinks
that she cannot continue like this and decides that she has to do
something.

She decides in desperation that she must lose 45 pounds as quickly as
possible and with tears in her eyes she searches the internet for a new
way to reach an old goal.

Meet Todd...

Todd goes to the ATM to withdraw money for lunch and discovers that he
only has $119.34. He has 10 days before his next paycheck and suddenly
realizes that two days ago he wrote a check to the utility company and
another to his daughter's school that will overdraw the account.

In that moment he decides that he cannot continue to live like this and
vows that he will become financially independent.

What do Beth Ann and Todd have in common? They are both setting
potentially life changing goals while in an emotional state of need.

We all do it from time to time. You have a bad day at work and while in
a state of frustration on the drive home you decide that you really need
to be your own boss so you start looking for business opportunities. A
friend says something that you don't like and you decide that you need
new friends so you set a goal of getting out more and expanding your
social circle.

In most cases the emotion passes, but there are times when we make
decisions that last beyond the moment and set goals to change our life
based on the perceived lack we are experiencing.

You may be thinking "But the best time to set a goal is when you are
sick and tired of being sick and tired."

I don't totally disagree with you. When you hit what feels like the
bottom, it is better to decide to pick yourself up than it is to just
wallow in despair, but is this really the best time to set life changing
goals?

Consider this...

"Need" is a subjective state-of-mind that when satisfied most often
temporarily improves the conditions in a person's life, but not
necessarily the person.

The real progress happens when you realize that it is not about what you
attain or obtain, it's about who you become in the process.

Let me share with you the three challenges to setting need based goals,
why they seldom work, and a more effective way to set big goals.

Challenge #1: Being taken advantaged of...

When you are in a heightened state of need you typically look for
immediate results. You want a quick fix to reverse the results of what
you've been routinely doing for a while. The two biggest examples of
this would be:

• Quick-weight-loss diet programs
• Get-rich-schemes

Both are multi-billion dollar industries built solely on the collective
desires of people who want immediate results at all cost. Not all are
bad, but because there are so many it makes it hard to find real
solutions to the challenges you may be facing. And the more desperate
you are the more open you are to false promises and empty offers.

Challenge #2: Ineffectiveness

Highly-emotional need based goals/intentions typically don't work over
time.

When you focus on the apparent need (the symptom) and not the real
problem (the cause) it's just a matter of time before the real problem
produces another symptom. In some cases it produces a second symptom
that's worse than the first. It is like mowing dandelions. The lawn may
look neat and even at first, but in the process you've spread the seeds
and left the root.

Challenge #3: High Stress

Need based goals tend to be the most stressful because they are often
based on something we are resisting in our life.

I've learned that whenever I have more work than I can do in one day to
simply accept the fact that I have a heavy work load and figure out a
way to get it done. At one point I would resist this reality by saying
things like, "I can't believe I have so much to do," and "I'll never get
all of this done." Thoughts like these would always lead to high stress
and low productivity.

A Better Way

Here are five easy steps that will help you to set your goals and
intentions based on personal growth and not personal need. When faced
with a problem that you want to establish a goal to eliminate, do the
following:

1. Accept the situation for what it is
Your current situation is simply the place that you have arrived as a
result of what you have been doing in the recent or distant past. You
can't change the past so don't dwell on regrets. When you stop resisting
your current situation by simply saying that you accept what is, you
become present. Your focus is not on a memory that you can't change or
on worrying about what could happen. You are in the moment and in the
moment you have the power to move in the direction of your choosing.

When you accept the situations in your life without judging them as good
or bad the stress literally melts away and you are clear to find the
best way to reach your objective.

2. Look at the big picture
Your life is bigger than what just happened. Don't make it small. Count
your blessings. Focus on the positive. Look at your entire life and not
a just one narrow aspect of it.

Most of the negative feelings that we experience come from a
preoccupation with ourselves. Get outside of yourself. Think about the
needs of other people and how you can make a difference in their lives
using the gifts that you have.

Goals that focus on the needs of others have the power to attract
people, organizations, and resources to get them done.

3. Look for the core problem or opportunity.
Ask yourself:
•"Is this a recurring problem?"
•"Where is this coming from?"
•"What's feeding this?"

4. Set a lifestyle goal to address the core problem.
• What skill, talent, or character trait do I need to develop to
overcome this challenge?
• Who do I need to become in order to maintain the results I want to
produce?

5. Set daily action goals to address the immediate need.
• What steps do I need to take today to begin my transformation?
• Who can I call?
• What can I learn to help me improve in this area?
• What routine or habit do I need to develop to reach and maintain my
goal?

Remember, in the end it's the person that you become not the things that
you get or the goals that you reach that will have the most lasting
impression on your life.
Are your current goals transforming you into a stronger, wiser, and more
enlightened person or are they just getting you what you need?

About the Author:

L. Andrew Morgan is known as The Goals Coach by coaching clients,
seminar participants, and more than 230,000 people around the world who
enjoy his success messages via Twitter. He is the author of "About
Goals: The Daily Goals Tool Kit", and "About Goals: 101+ Quick Tips to
Reach Your Goals". In addition, he has developed tools such as the
"About Goals: Life-Motion Study" and "The About Goals Daily Journal",
all designed to help achievers find clarity and focus to reach their
objectives faster.He currently lives on the East coast in Silver Spring,
Maryland, and is the President of Break Out! Seminars and the founder of
http://www.AboutGoals.com

http://www.recipelion.com/Slow-Cooker-Soup-Recipes/All-Day-German-Beef-Stew/ml/1
- All Day German Beef Stew - "Loaded with
veggies and delicious spices, this All Day German Beef Stew is just what
you want to eat after a busy day. As much as we love the flavor of this
hearty stew, what we love even more is how easy it is to prepare. This
is one of those all-day slow cooker recipes that you can make in the
morning and enjoy for dinner when you get home. If you're looking for
effortless beef stew recipes this season, try out this great slow cooker
sensation."

http://www.allfreecasserolerecipes.com/Dessert-Casserole-Recipes/Pumpkin-Poke-Cake/
- Ashton's Pumpkin Poke
Cake - "Jello poke cake recipes are more
exciting than regular cakes. You poke holes on the top and then pour a
pudding mixture over it, so it seeps into the holes. This Pumpkin Poke
Cake is a spin on Jello poke cakes. Instead of pudding, sweetened
condensed milk is poured into the holy cake, which is made from yellow
cake mix and pumpkin puree. As if that wasn't good enough, the cake is
topped with Cool Whip, Heath bits, and caramel. It really is a perfect
fall treat."

From
Wayne
Stokes ('65) of VA - 10/10/12, 11:05 AM - "Priceless Rare
Photos (#25 in a Series of 25)":

Two guys met in
the middle of the desert. One was carrying a car door, the other an
umbrella.

The one with the car
door said to the guy with the umbrella, "Why are you carrying that
umbrella around? It isn't going to rain in the desert."

To which the guy
with the umbrella replied, "Yeah, but it keeps me out of the sun! By the
way, why are you carrying around that car door, you don’t even have a
car to go with it?”

The guy with the car door said, "Yeah, well at least if I get too hot
from the sun, I can just roll down the window!"

DATES TO
REMEMBER:

1. Thursday, December 6, 2012 - The NNHS Class of 1955 holds Lunch Bunch
gatherings on the first Thursday of every month at Steve & John's Steak House on
Jefferson Avenue just above Denbigh Boulevard in Newport News at 11:00 AM. The
luncheon is not limited to just the Class of '55; if you have friends in that
year, go visit with them.

3. Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - The NNHS Class of June 1942 meets at noon on
the second Wednesday of every other month for a Dutch treat lunch at the James
River Country Club, 1500 Country Club Road. PLEASE JOIN THEM. Give or take a few
years makes no difference. Good conversation, food and atmosphere. For details,
call Jennings Bryan at 803-7701 for reservations.